Encounters
by Zoegurl49
Summary: It was instinct, really. He surged forward upon seeing that familiar haircut that he'd only seen in his dreams upon pure instinct. There was nothing weird about the fact that he could be hugging a complete stranger on a busy sidewalk. Nope. Not at all.


**Hello! I just wanted to write an ereri one shot. Hope you enjoy it!**

Eren didn't mean to hug the short man in front of him, it just sort of happened.

It started out as a normal morning. He was having one of his migraines that came with the weird hallucinations of giant man eating monsters and people flying through the air with green cloaks and sharp swords.

Just another day, another nightmare.

Each scene was different. Sometimes there were people he knew in these hallucinations. His best friend Armin popped up from time to time, his adopted sister Mikasa, Jean Kirschstein (a friend and enemy), and other people he recognized. But there was one person he didn't know, yet they came up a lot. The Corporal. Eren seemed to have never ending scenes of him. Killing the monsters together, furious floor scrubbing in a stone castle, meals in an empty dining hall, and lots and lots of more, ah, _intimate_ things, he was always there. He blushed as he walked through the city with the Corporal on his mind. He knew that he couldn't be real, but damn if it didn't seem like he was.

Eren knew he was going crazy with the images constantly invading his mind, but he still kept them a secret from everyone. Especially Mikasa. If he told her, there'd be no stopping her from dragging him to some sort of psychiatrist or conducting her own personal psychoanalyzation. So he kept quiet about them. He wondered if maybe he secretly enjoyed them.

He woke up in the early morning when he began to feel the pressure in his head that signaled an oncoming vision. Today's vision was of him and Levi, his Corporal. No surprise there.

It was dark outside, he could see the stars through the window of Levi's office. He knew it was Levi's office. He had spent many hours in there. A single candle gave off the only light in the room. Levi sat in his chair and was clearly working on paperwork while Eren lay draped over the other chair and trying his hardest to not fall asleep. Sleepily, he decided to watch Levi working. His eyebrows were knit in concentration and Eren couldn't help but notice how cute he looked while working. Even though "cute" wasn't usually a word people associated with the older man. But tonight, it was.

"Stop staring, brat." Levi muttered as he shifted through the papers. He didn't even look up. Eren sat up and leaned over, putting his elbows on the desk and chin in hand.

"I can't help it. There's nothing else that's interesting in here." Levi gave a sigh and lifted his gaze to the sleepy cerulean eyes staring at him. He smiled softly before standing up.

"Ok, then. Time for bed."

Eren perked up at those words.

They both stood up and Eren fidgeted impatiently as Levi tidied up his desk. Finally, he grabbed the candle and the raven haired man led the way out of the office.

Eren trailed behind the Corporal in the dark hallways and studied the undercut he knew so well. The hair on his neck was starting to grow back and Eren wondered if Levi would let him trim it for him. Really, he just wanted an excuse to play with the Corporal's hair.

They arrived at Levi's quarters and began undressing as soon as they stepped in.

"Oi, don't forget to brush your teeth while you're in there," Levi called out to Eren who was heading to the bathroom as he was undoing the leather straps on his gear.

Eren waved him off, "I know, I know. Don't worry."

After they'd gone through their nightly routines, they lay together in bed. Eren had his cheek rested on the older man's chest and listened to his heart beating steadily. He tried to fall asleep, but he couldn't seem to. "Levi?" he said softly. He didn't want to wake the older man if he was already asleep.

"Hmm." he hummed in response. Eren could feel the rumble on his cheek through his chest.

He spoke without preamble."I want to live in a world without Titans, where I can be with you, Levi. I want to be happy, not constantly terrified that I'm going to screw up and end up causing the deaths of every single person I care about."

Levi ran his fingers through Eren's soft, brown locks and sighed. Eren could feel his hot breath on the top of his head where it ruffled his hair. Eren looked up and took in the appearance of the older man.

Grey eyes, full of love and sadness for a life they couldn't ever have.

"Maybe someday, kid. But it's not happening anytime soon." Eren nodded and inhaled deeply. He felt at ease in Levi's bed with the scent of fresh laundry and the bergamot tea that the raven haired man loves so much surrounding him.

Eren looked up and began closing his eyes, lifted his head and kissed him softly on the lips. Levi's lips were chapped and incredibly warm compared to the rest of him. Eren, on the other hand, was practically a walking furnace.

The kiss quickly grew more heated as it deepened, their mouths aligning. Eren moaned as Levi licked along his lower lip, asking for permission to enter. Eren quickly complied. Levi ran his hands up and down tan skin, touching wherever he could. Their tongues danced and Eren shuddered at the feeling of Levi behind his teeth. The brunet opened his eyes marginally and saw the pink flush of arousal on Levi's cheeks which only furthered his own excitement.

Eren couldn't help himself from practically tackling the older man and pushing him down onto the bed they shared. He latched himself to his collarbone, sucking on the skin and leaving dark marks wherever he went. He bit down and heard a groan come from above him and his cock twitched in his boxers. It spurred him on and he made his way up the pale neck, leaving a trail of sloppy wet kisses as he went. Levi bucked his hips up to Eren's as the brunet worked. Eren gasped at the wonderful friction it provided and ground back down even harder, emitting high pitched moans. Eren enjoyed exploiting Levi's weakness for neck kisses. He enjoyed it a lot.

Levi flipped the two of them over and Eren yelped in surprise. Levi attacked his mouth and pulled away with heavy breaths to reach inside the bedside drawer. Eren knew what was coming next and he squirmed with impatience as Levi uncapped the vial of oil.

Levi raised an eyebrow at Eren's wriggling, "Eager, aren't we?"

Eren huffed as Levi took his time running his fingers over the younger male's entrance. Just rubbing over the perineum, but not actually pressing inside. He twitched as Levi applied just a slight pressure. "Levi, _please._ "

Levi didn't reply. Instead, he slowly inserted his index finger into Eren. He wriggled it around in the tight heat until Eren breathed, " _More._ " He worked another in and began scissoring to stretch the other male. As he worked he felt around and knew he'd found what he was looking for when Eren arched his back and let out a lewd moan that made his own cock throb.

" _God,_ please Levi I need you right now, holy fuck." Eren's hips stuttered as he ground down onto Levi's hand, searching for that jolt of pleasure.

Levi couldn't stand it anymore and the raven haired man reached over to the nightstand to grab a condom and more oil but Eren stopped him, "No! Um…," the brunet licked his lips nervously with a faint blush on his cheeks, "Could we not tonight? I'd like to try it without a condom. If you don't mind," he added hastily.

Levi gave him a flat stare. "Eren, you know that's unsanitary."

Eren shrugged, "It can't be much worse than having your fingers in my ass."

"Don't remind me," Levi grimaced which made Eren laugh. But he acquiesced to his lover's request.

Levi applied a generous amount of lube to his cock before he aligned himself with Eren's entrance and began pushing in slowly. Eren's breathing became harsh as he slid in inch by inch.

Levi leaned over Eren and kissed his swollen lips to help distract him from the pain.

It wasn't long until Levi let out a tremulous sigh as his hips met Eren's backside. Eren bit his lower lip to keep himself from crying out. Without the condom, he could really feel the warmth of Levi's cock inside him. His thighs trembled and he locked them around the other man's back to try and keep them from shaking so much.

The scene begin to blur and change until Eren could barely recall the feeling of skin on skin.

He opened his eyes and saw the white ceiling of his own apartment. The fan spun lazy circles over his head as he tried to bring himself back to reality.

Eren wanted to cry. He'd like to lie and say that these hallucinations didn't interfere with his regular life, but it did. He couldn't explain why it hurt so damn much to wake up and not see Levi next to him, to remember that he doesn't really exist. It always left his chest aching in the morning.

Sometimes during the day, he'd laugh at something and turn instinctively to see Levi's reaction and had to remind himself that Levi wasn't real. But Eren always felt the pang of loss and disappointment when he remembered that the older man only existed in his dreams. Or he'd catch himself mentioning Levi to his friends, "I was with Levi the other night," or, "Well Levi once said…", and it's happened on more than one occasion. His friends keep asking him who Levi is and Eren can only stutter and choke out, "Just a friend."

These memories were hurting him. Alarms went off in his head. When did he start thinking of them as memories and not just the crazy imaginings of his mind? He began to wonder if maybe if he thought of them as memories because of how goddamn vivid they were at times. Perhaps, memories of a past life. He snorted. Maybe he'd let Mikasa drag him to a psychiatrist after all. A past life. Reincarnation. Bullshit.

He lifted his head from the pillow and saw wet stains on the pillowcase. He hadn't even realized he had been crying, but it wasn't uncommon for him to do so after coming out of one the "memories". He felt a little pathetic, reacting this way to someone who has never even existed. But the Eren in his nightmares really loved that Levi guy and the feelings were so strong that he could feel that pain and sorrow seep into the moments when he's awake.

He stayed in bed for hours and didn't even consider getting up until Armin walked in.

"Hey Eren, I'm going to the store is the- Are you okay?!" the blond asked worriedly. Eren's eyes were red and obviously puffy from crying. Armin approached the brunet and sat down on the bed. Eren said nothing.

Armin waited for an explanation. He knew the other boy would break his silence sooner or later. Finally, Eren rubbed his eyes tiredly, "I'm fine, Armin. Just a nightmare." he offered the blond a weak smile.

His friend, however, was not buying his bullshit. "It obviously wasn't _just_ a nightmare. Eren, if there's anything you want to talk about, you know you can always come to me. I won't tell Mikasa." He winked.

Eren laughed softly. The brunet sat up in bed and put his arms around the smaller blond. "Thanks, Arm. I think I just need to go out for a while and get some fresh air."

* * *

Him and Levi were on the battlefield. Everyone was. Every single soldier alive, no matter what part of the military they were from, was fighting for their lives in the forest. Men, women, and teenagers, were dying left and right. It was a bloodbath like none other. No one expected the sudden onslaught of titans to appear. The battle started with only a few titans coming out of the trees and they killed them without trouble.

Then it was all quiet. Not a single bird chirped and the wind was still. The only sounds were the sizzling of decomposing titan flesh.

Eren hooked his maneuver gear into the nearest tree and landed in a branch next to Levi. He was standing there in the shade cleaning his blades with a handkerchief he pulled out.

"Captain...Is that it? Are we done?" Everyone was confused. It was supposed to be the final round against the titans and there were hardly any more than there were in Shiganshina. There was no great triumph and loud cheering. The forest was eerily quiet and it set the battle weary soldiers on edge.

"I don't know, Eren. All we can do is wait. We aren't going to go hunting for titans in here. This is no-man's land, stay by my side."

The brunette turned towards him and smiled too sweetly for someone who had been chopping away at titan flesh only two seconds ago, "Always".

They turned as they heard a sudden surge of titans burst through the trees and the two of them took off. Together, they were taking down titans left and right, but there was too many. Eren shot Levi a pleading look. Levi knew what he wanted, it was too easy to read the younger male's expressions. He grudgingly gave Eren permission to change into his titan form, despite his gut telling him not to let him do it.

Eren glided smoothly onto the grass and bit into his hand. An explosion was seen and heard by all the soldiers in the area and many of them sighed in relief knowing that Eren would be providing back up. But unfortunately, it attracted all the titans also. They were upon Eren in a heartbeat and Levi did all he could to help the brunet out and began slicing away.

Levi's heart was sinking into his chest. The soldiers weren't taking down the titans fast enough and he could tell that Eren was getting tired. His movements were slowing down, getting sloppy. The remaining titans were eating his titan form. And quickly. Chunks were missing from all over his body. The smaller classes were eating away at his legs and Eren fell down onto the blood slick grass. Levi immediately went down to cut Eren out before he got hurt, but the titans were quicker.

Levi could only watch in horror as a 15m class took a bite out of the nape of Eren's titan form, exposing his human body. Eren lay unconscious in the evaporating flesh.

"Eren! Wake up, you stupid shit!", he shouted. But to no avail. He began to panic when a 10m class picked up Eren's limp form. "Someone help!" he tried to get someone's attention but everyone else was busy with their own problem and injuries.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Eren woke up as the titan lifted him up and opened up its wide mouth. Levi came to the crushing realization, _I'm too far away to save him._

"Levi?" Oh god, he could hear Eren's cries from here. Eren was still barely conscious, but not for long. The brunets eyes widened to the size of saucers at the gaping maw in front of him. "LEVI, PLEASE. HELP ME," Levi felt fury well up inside him and pressed for more gas, hoping to go faster. But all that came out was a sputter. He was out of gas. Out of all times. When it counted most.

He completely ran out of gas and crashed into the grass below him, his maneuver gear breaking into pieces as he tumbled.

The raven haired man could only watch in horror as his lover let out blood curdling versions of his name as he was lowered into the waiting jaws of a titan and bitten clean in half.

Levi wanted to give up at that moment. He wanted to sink to his knees and die right there below those big ass trees. He wanted nothing more than to wallow in grief, but he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to get back up.

He lifted his head and gazed over the area with glazed eyes. There were still titans to be killed. He mechanically went through the motions of removing his destroyed gear and putting on some salvageable gear from another fallen soldier.

Numbly, he began killing titans again. Sometimes he would get careless and get hit, thrown into a tree, hit a branch or two. He didn't feel any pain. Whenever he crashed, he just got up again and zipped away.

It wasn't until the last titan was steaming away that he allowed himself to _feel._ And he wished he hadn't because it hurt way too goddamn much. He choked on his sobs and stared blankly at Eren's still evaporating titan form. He wanted to hope that Eren would burst from one of the titans lying on the ground with a roar, but there was nothing but silence and the hiss of steam.

In the background, he could hear Mikasa crying out and asking the other soldiers where Eren is. He wanted to punch her, make her stop, because Eren was gone. Gone. Gone from this world. Gone from the ones who loved him. Gone from Levi. And that fucking hurt.

He recalled the conversation they'd had just a few months ago when his lover had said he'd wanted to live in a world where there weren't any titans. Back then, it had been an impossible dream. Now it was real and Levi wanted nothing more than for it to be untrue because he didn't want to think that he could live in a world without titans if Eren wasn't there to enjoy it with him.

Levi began to feel an unbearable pain in his side and saw red staining his cloak. He lifted it to see a branch sticking out of his ribs. _Oh,_ he thought to himself, _Maybe I won't have to live in a world without Eren for too long._ He didn't bother calling for a medic, he figured his luck would have to run out at some time.

Hanji, battered and bloody, limped over to the Corporal who was standing alone on the battlefield.

"Levi?" they called out tentatively, "It's time to go back to the walls now. It's done, there aren't any left." She didn't know about Eren's fate.

The man made no sign that he acknowledged her words. He stood completely still with the wind whipping his cloak.

"Maybe now we can be happy." Levi said to no one. Or, at least it seemed that way to Hanji. The new Commander walked up to him slowly and laid their hand on his shoulder. The Corporal collapsed like a ragdoll on the red stained grass. "Levi!" Hanji fell to their knees and began shaking the fallen soldier but it was no use, he had stopped breathing. Hanji sat still for a moment and let out a long and heavy sigh.

Levi knew it was over when he could feel the cat's whiskers tickling his face. "Get off me, dumb cat." He pushed away the feline invading his personal space and sighed heavily. _Not again._ The raven haired male had gotten really tired of that particular nightmare. It had become more and more frequent over the years. He was practically numb to it now. But not quite. Guilt swirled through him every time he heard Eren's voice calling his name. Erwin had told him that he shouldn't worry about it, the past is in the past. Hanji seemed to be a little more concerned though. The scientist noticed that the already dark circles under his eyes were beginning to look like bruises.

The former Corporal sat up in his bed and looked around his bare room. He didn't care much for possessions. He'd gotten too used to the meaningless of objects in his past life and current life.

Levi tried not to dwell on the memory too long, but the more often it occurred the more he thought about it. He padded across the cold wooden floor into the kitchen and began making his morning tea. Questions ran through his mind as he went through the routine of preparing the drink. _What if I had been quicker? What if I hadn't run out of gas?_ The usual questions plagued his mind and he didn't even noticed when he had finished his drink until he tried to take a sip and nothing came out.

He ran his hands over his face tiredly and sighed aloud into the empty dining room. Although loathe to admit it, he missed Eren terribly. Everything he saw and did seemed to be a reminder of the other male, and it always made Levi's chest twinge with pain. So, he threw himself into his work as a distraction.

The cat, which he had never properly named, twined through his legs as he got up and mechanically began to get ready for work. His thoughts were still on Eren as he grabbed his briefcase and made his way out the apartment door.

So when Eren saw that familiar undercut walking in front of him, the one he had seen countless times in his dreams, while walking behind Levi in the castle, escorting him to his room in the dungeon, burying his face into it at night, when they were zipping through the air in their maneuver gear, Levi gracefully winding through the trees. Now, in the middle of sidewalk, he had no other thought than, _Levi_ , before surging forward and hugging the shorter man from behind. Of course, it only took a moment for the man to stiffen at the unwanted contact and flip him over his shoulder. Eren fell onto the concrete with an audible smack that made him see stars.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the man hissed while standing over Eren who was still lying stunned on the ground.

Eren normally would've been stammering out apologies by now but instead he just stared at the man in shock with his mouth agape. _It really is him._

Eren saw recognition in the silver eyes above him and decided to take a risk, "Corporal?" he asked hesitantly.

Levi's eyes narrowed, "The fuck do you want?"

Eren would've been terrified but he saw the glimmer of amusement and longing in the other man's eyes and his own began to fill with the tears.

"Oh my God, it really is you isn't it?" he whispered.

Levi smiled softly, the smile that was reserved only for Eren, and helped him to his feet. The younger man immediately wrapped his arms around his past lover without hesitation and buried his face into the pale neck while sobbing without care. Eren wondered, slightly, if he was having another hallucination. But as he breathed in the familiar scent of bergamot and fresh laundry that was so distinctly _Levi_ , he knew it had to be real.

Levi clung to Eren and muttered over and over in a low voice, "I'm so sorry, Eren. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Eren, I'm sorry," and pulled the younger man in tighter.

The pair stood in the middle of the sidewalk clutching each other while people walked around them and nothing else mattered.

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